Governor Patrick Morrisey (00:43):
( Silence).
(00:43)
… in a very, very short period of time. Obviously, I've now declared a state of emergency for both Marion and Ohio Counties and we're watching the weather closely to see how it evolves today and the next few days because more rain is being forecast. So we're going to urge everyone to pay close attention to the weather forecast. And most importantly, we want people to watch out. If there're roads that are under construction or they're closed, please don't try to drive down them. We know that this is a problem. In District Four alone, we've heard that there are six roads that are closed throughout the district. Six in Marion County on top of that. That's significant. We want to make sure that we're not going out and we're giving the transportation department, our highways folks, and others, the opportunity to go out, make sure that the road debris gets cleared up and that we're getting these streets back in a passable condition again.
(01:45)
Flash flooding. It began in earnest in Ohio County on Saturday night. And from what we've been briefed on, roughly three to four inches of rain hit in about 40 minutes of time. That's pretty unbelievable. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what happened up there. But also, flash flooding occurred yesterday in Marion County with up to three inches of rain in also a short period of time. And many people know the visuals already of the apartment building. It's pretty hard to imagine how much rain can come down an area. But what we're seeing in some of the areas across West Virginia, whether it was Ohio County or whether it was Marion County, is that you could have large areas where there's some rain, but then in one concentrated area it's a torrential downpour and you're seeing massive quantities of water dumped. It's just Mother Nature at its worst and so it's not something that's easy to foresee.
(02:52)
Now, we're still assessing the flooding levels, but it's safe to say that some of the flooding is really bad here and of course in Ohio County as well. I just had the opportunity to get briefed here in Marion County by Chris McIntyre, who's going to also say a few words here. And I'm fortunate to be joined by some of our team. Of course, we've activated the National Guard and I have General Jim Seward here and I have my Secretary of Homeland Security Doug Buffington as well. Quite frankly, these folks have been working up through the night, as well as all the first responders that are out there trying to help people.
(03:33)
When bad things happen in West Virginia, we look out for our brothers and sisters. We pull together because we have to. We're mountaineers. And that's what's been happening here. The volunteers that step up, the folks that are trying to make sure that the supply is provided to all people who are affected. And then we're working, doing our best, the outreach, the outpouring from the community. I think West Virginians, we care so deeply about our fellow man, and so I want to thank everyone who has stepped up to help in whatever manner. It makes a real difference.
(04:13)
I am saddened to report that right now the death toll has risen. We're up to six people are confirmed dead, all in Ohio County. We have at least two individuals who are unaccounted for. We're continuing to work. We obviously have some concerns about that. But right now, we're still in the stage of doing everything possible to identify people. If there's any chance to save another life, we're going to keep putting the time in. And I want to commend all the people both in Ohio County, Marion County, quite frankly, all the folks that have done so much to try to be brave and look out and engage in those water rescues. We know that state officials and local officials are doing everything to make sure that the local emergency responders have the tools that they need and we can locate all the missing persons and address all the various needs.
(05:09)
I know many of you last night saw the terrible footage about the apartment complex. This is just a terrible image. And we know that there are about 61 facilities that are affected in West Virginia. We believe it's about 61 residents, folks have told me that we have about 25 businesses. As we get more up-to-date information, we want to bring that to you to share that. Obviously whenever you have a disaster, sometimes the numbers are going to change and evolve. So we're trying to report based upon the best information we have right now. We do have some good news in Marion County that despite that incredible collapse of the apartment that right now no individuals are unaccounted for. That's good and I want to thank all the people that have stepped up, those water rescues that you saw, that made a big, big difference. So thank you. West Virginians, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, what you're doing to help your friends and neighbors in need.
(06:14)
We know that we're thankful to the local folks here at Fairmont State. We have Mike Davis. Where's Mike? Mike? There you are. Mike, thank you for opening up Fairmont State to let people stay there. We have anywhere from eight to 12 people, they're staying in Fairmont State. That makes a big difference for folks from the apartment building. We are grateful. I think you're stepping up and that makes all the difference in the world. We know that there are not many people affected with power outages here in Marion County right now from what we've been briefed, but we still have over 1,000 people without power in Ohio County. And so we're watching that closely.
(06:58)
We've been working closely with AEP and FirstEnergy. We do know that a lot of the linemen that are out there, they're working around the clock. These guys are brave. They go into tough situations. They work, they help out. They stand for their fellow West Virginians. Well, they're working to try to get those numbers down. We have offered our assistance for any of the communities that need help, just to make sure that we're going in and we're clearing the debris, we're clearing the roads because usually you have to do that. There's a cycle to these disasters. Sometimes you have people after the immediacy of the moment where the water is really high, the focus is on identifying the individuals, as the water's receding, have a lot of these search and rescues. But then you have to follow up with debris clearing and that takes a bit of time. That allows the linemen to go in. That process has been underway and we're going to keep working hard to
Governor Patrick Morrisey (08:00):
… help as many people with all these areas. We are told that there are no more water outages in Ohio County. That's good news and I'm pleased to report that. But we're going to keep working, coordinating with our emergency management teams to ensure that any need for water pallets, supplies, or generators are met. On the transportation side, we know that there are over 30 routes that have been affected in Ohio and Marion Counties. We're going to make those road names available to you. I won't read all of them off, but that's available to all of you. We also, once again, urge everyone, if you live by one of those roads, please don't go out and just look around and drive. Make sure that you have the clearance from the local officials so that you're not driving through an area where there may be a slip in the road and you may have real problems. We want to avoid that.
(08:59)
We know that our transportation department's still working to clear the debris, to restore the roadways. Also, to work with the local landfills to make sure that we're addressing all the issues and making sure first responders have the support that they need.
(09:17)
We've been talking with FEMA. We know that FEMA's on the ground here in West Virginia. We were in close communication with FEMA all day yesterday. They've been notified. They're working closely with our office so that to the extent possible, we want to receive any rebid of assistance from FEMA that our citizens would deserve. And so I'm going to keep fighting for West Virginia. And I want to do everything I can to try to help people, whether it's the folks of Marion County, Ohio County, or all people that are affected.
(09:50)
I'm not going to predict what's going to happen in terms of some of the surveys. A lot depends upon the information that's provided to FEMA through these damage assessments. And so at the end of this press conference, we'll talk and we'll give you the website, that if you're affected, you need to make sure that you're reporting the damage. Because if you don't, then it really won't count for purposes of the criteria that the state and the federal government look for. So I urge people to take advantage of that.
(10:21)
To DEP, we're announcing that we've waived the tonnage limitation and the disposal fees for the landfills. That's certainly really important, and we're doing a lot of work to authorize temporary debris-staging areas. I know a lot of that is being done in Ohio County, and we've talked to the emergency management people about doing that in Marion County as well.
(10:46)
In terms of water rescues, we know that our DNR was involved in approximately 20 water rescues. We've been informed that in Marion County there are approximately 20 water rescues as well. Once again, thank you so much to all the volunteers and to all the people, the DNR and the law enforcement and the first responders that did so many amazing things.
(11:10)
When I think of the hardworking West Virginians we have, we have some of the bravest people in the country and they'll do anything to help their fellow man. And you see that during times like this.
(11:23)
State police, local police are still walking through some of the affected areas. We want to make sure, we're looking for any missing individuals. If anyone in the public has reports about that, please let us know. We want to make sure that we're contacting the loved ones. Notably, we have not announced the names of the individuals who are deceased. It's so important to make sure that the local, the families know about that first. But as soon as that happens, we're going to be in a position to release the names to you.
(11:57)
In terms of the National Guard, they've obviously been fully mobilized and I'm pleased that we have some of our Guard members with us today. We know that they're fully engaged and they're coordinating across all the agencies, working hand in glove with our emergency services department. We know that engineering units with loaders and dump trucks are mobilized to clear debris, and our assets remain available to help as needed.
(12:24)
I know before coming in, I asked the local emergency management folks, Chris Mcintire, were there any outstanding needs from the state in Marion? I think they said "no," but I want folks to reach out through local emergency management. We want to do everything we can to be helpful. I mean that. We want to make sure we're providing assistance the whole way through. We work as a team here, local and state coming together. That's so important because the local folks out in front reporting this information.
(12:58)
This is a very difficult time for West Virginia. My heart continues to go out to the families who have lost loved ones. And I went down to Triadelphia yesterday. That was just pure devastation. It was brutal. I know that I'm going to be going to the apartment building and looking at some of the carnage here today.
(13:21)
One thing I can say is that West Virginians, we hold our heads up high during these difficult times. We look out for our brothers and for our sisters, and we stand strong. That's what West Virginians do. We have an indomitable spirit, and we're going to get through this. We know that we urge people to watch out for the additional rain that may be coming, but we're going to get through this. And I want to thank everyone here for all the work that you are doing to make sure that we're going to put West Virginia first. That's critical, and I thank all the legislators who are here showing their support, the county commissioners, the emergency management folks, and just everyone pitching in. It's a team effort, and let's keep working as a team to make great things happen for West Virginia.
(14:10)
So I'm going to conclude by saying we want you to pray for all these communities, and if you have been affected and you're watching this, please do two things. One, make sure that you're reporting in the survey instrument. And if you have damage to your home, please submit it to emd.wv.gov/disastersurvey. That's emd.wv.gov/disastersurvey. We want to be helpful, but if people affected don't submit the information, there's not much we can do. That's certainly critically important.
(14:59)
We're going to keep working. We're going to try to identify anyone who's not accounted for. We're going to come back and we're going to update you again in the upcoming days. But I want to thank everyone for being here. What we're going to do now is give some folks the opportunity to weigh in. Our National Guard head, our Adjutant General Seward, Mcintire on the local side, and Doug Buffington. I'm grateful that they're all here, because we win with a really strong team. And that's what we have between the local folks and the state folks. So General… Any comments from you, sir?
Maj. Gen. James Seward (15:36):
Thank you, Governor. Good morning. National Guard is here in Marion County. In fact, it's exciting when we have troops and units here in the county that can respond from their homes, and that's what you have. We've got assessment teams on the ground. We call them LNOs as well, liaisons to the county officials.
Maj. Gen. James Seward (16:00):
They will make sure that we understand what the need is, as well as working with Mr. McIntyre to make sure that we get the right kind of units here, the right kind of equipment. If you have extra debris removal or pickup from homes we'll be working on that. And I just thank the first responders that are here and those in the community because that's really where the work happens, in that first 24 hours when you're saving lives. And it sounds like there was a tremendous amount of that done here yesterday. And as you know, that makes all the difference in these incidents.
(16:40)
So thank you so much and we'll be here if anybody has any questions. And I'll have a representative here working with the county. If you have any questions for the National Guard, please reach out to them and we'll do whatever we can for as long as it takes. Thank you.
Governor Patrick Morrisey (16:57):
John, any comments?
Speaker 1 (16:59):
So I want to, one, thank the various entities that have helped State Police, DNR, State Fire Marshal, Emergency Management, it goes on and on. But what I would really like to tell you is it all begins at home. The information that we use to funnel help comes from all of you, and it goes to the emergency manager who puts it into a system and it calls that help. So everything I've learned about doing emergency management is it starts local. And so whether it be your politicians who are here in support and getting information to me or your emergency manager, citizens, mayors, county commissioners, get your information to your emergency manager. He puts it into a system and it's seen across the state so we can move as rapidly as possible, and that triggers information to flow to the state police, to DNR, and they're on the scene.
(17:54)
We haven't had the opportunity yet, but we're going in a few moments to tour here. But I can tell you when we toured in Ohio County, you wouldn't believe the number of DOH trucks that were already working up and down the streets and the in-loaders and picking up debris. As much of a disaster as it is, my heart was warmed a little bit to see the number of people that were already out on the road helping. So thank you to all of you and thank you to our emergency manager here that really is the focal point of getting this process started.
Governor Patrick Morrisey (18:21):
Thank you, John. Chris.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Governor, thank you. The immediate response by your office is that absolutely amazing, and we really appreciate that. Our first responders did a wonderful job yesterday. Our dispatch center did a wonderful job. We got a really good group of people in Marion County, Mon County, Harrison County, interested to help us with this situation. Can't say enough about that. You can check out our Facebook page. We have the link-up for the survey. It's on the City of Fairmont page also. Please get those surveys in and bear with us in highways. Highways is trying to get the… We're working with the power company to get the lines cleared off the road so they can get the slips cleared up. So it's like the governor said, it's a process we have to work through with it, but we're working through that.
(19:03)
Please get your numbers into us, your information in through that survey with it. If you don't have the ability to access a computer, you can call us at (304) 366-0196 is our non-emergency number and you can call that and we'll have somebody take your information. Our Emergency Operations Center will be up and running here with Red Cross National Guard and our staff here for the next several days until we don't have that need anymore. But if you have any needs whatsoever, please call us or get with us and please do the survey. And again, thank you so much.
Governor Patrick Morrisey (19:35):
Yes sir.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Thank you.
Governor Patrick Morrisey (19:37):
Well, thank you very much, Chris. I also want to commend our federal representatives and we've been in touch with many of them. I know Chuck Flannery is here. I'm not sure if some of the others, but I know that a number of folks have been communicating closely with our office. And that's great because whatever your differences may be, we have to all come together during times like this. We have to make sure we're rallying around for Team West Virginia, and that's certainly what we'll be doing in the upcoming days, weeks, and months ahead. So before we go out and do the tour, I want to open it up to the media. If you have any questions, feel free to fire away.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Governor, I realize we're in an emergency situation here and you're still dealing with the aspects of that, but if you go back 35 years ago, shady side on the other side of the Ohio River there, more than 20 people killed similar circumstances under flash flooding. Is there anything we can do to stop some of this other than live with our terrain?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (20:43):
Yeah, look, it's a great question, and I ask those questions every time I go and inspect some of the damage. If you go for instance, in Ohio County, some of the areas that were affected, they weren't considered the most vulnerable to floods. And so to go and see that, how it absolutely devastated Triadelphia and some of the neighboring communities. And in some of those areas, it was really more unforeseen. So what you want to do, in a situation like this, is you want to first do all the damage assessments from this and then do a retrospective review to look at all the different things and see where proper decision-making prevention can make a big difference. In some cases, certainly it can. Right now the state is in the middle. We've committed a lot of resources for a Milton Floodball as an example, right? Because it's deemed that that's been very positive.
(21:40)
There are other efforts underway when you're doing studies looking at potential flooding areas. But then in some situations it's just you're dealing with Mother Nature. And when you look at what happened over the last couple of days, you had this nasty weather and it came together and that it just hit particular areas with four inches of rain in 40 minutes. I mean, the people were describing to me what happened is that there was no place for it to go because of the nature of our terrain.
(22:11)
So my guess is that there's always going to be more that you can do. Of course there's more you can do for prevention, but then some of it just deals with the nature of the topography that we have here in West Virginia. But regardless, we have to step up and we have to help our people. That makes a big, big difference. I know there'll be additional discussions with the legislature and others about the importance of flood prevention. I'm a believer in that, and I want to make sure we're learning from the past. I think that's important. Next question.
Speaker 4 (22:49):
Okay. What is the plan going to be to get things back on track here in Marion County after this flood?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (22:53):
A couple things. I'm not going to speak to all the issues of Marion County, but I will say from a State perspective, here's what's going to happen. So the first phase is deal with search and rescue and trying to make sure you're identifying people. Marion County was reassuring that there aren't any people currently unaccounted for. That's always the first priority. That's still going on, quite frankly, in Ohio County, we have a couple people unaccounted for.
(23:20)
Then what'll happen is you have to make sure that you're clearing the roads. So you clear the debris and then you're fixing the roads that allows the linemen to go out, the power to get restored. You want to make sure that people have access to water to the right type of supplies. And I would also take this moment to say it's never too early to have volunteers coming. We know that if you reach out to VOAD or if you reach out to American Red Cross, there are opportunities to volunteer in Marion County, in Ohio County because a lot of these facilities and these residents, they need to be cleaned up. The mud is caked
Governor Patrick Morrisey (24:00):
It's up four, five, six feet. We need to make sure that that is going to get addressed. And that's always going to be a combination of local citizens coming together with these incredible volunteers and these first responders, the state and the Guard all coming in and doing the kind of things that's helping these communities clear up. So there's a sequence and a pattern to this, and what we want to do is get through each stage successfully to minimize the loss of life, but then ultimately to make sure that we're addressing the basic needs of the citizens.
(24:36)
Then, as you do your damage assessment, that allows all of us to know what happened and then how we can actually rebuild for the future because that's critical. But we're still at that stage where we're doing some of the on-the-ground-work and then we get to the damage assessment review and then determine the broader, longer term steps that need to be taken for the state. And I defer to other folks in Marion County if you have any other items to add.
(25:06)
Ma'am?
Speaker 6 (25:06):
Do we know yet why the Fairmont apartment building collapsed?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (25:12):
I'm not going to answer all that directly, other than I know that there was a lot of water in the building and then there was water coming from a lot of different places. There's been a lot of speculation about that.
(25:25)
So I don't have anything conclusory for it, but we think that the volume of water up on the roof and the volume of water within the facility combined for a pretty devastating cocktail. And that's why you saw what happened. So as we learn more and as people do the inspections in the upcoming days, they can give you a more final answer, but certainly the volume of water, how it came in, made a huge difference.
Speaker 5 (25:56):
Do you have a status report on Locust Avenue? Because yesterday it was pretty passable. Has DOH started working on some of those repairs?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (26:05):
Any thoughts or comments on that?
Speaker 7 (26:07):
I have the DOH.
Speaker 8 (26:07):
Let me answer. Right now, [inaudible 00:26:11] the highway just focusing on there, there's like US 19 and areas of shutdown. Immediately after we get these roads open back up, we'll be sending our forces over to Locust Avenue and getting it cleaned up. But debris removal will be secondary to getting the roads opened up, but getting the roads opened up and getting everybody access is the primary goal that we're [inaudible 00:26:30] right now.
Governor Patrick Morrisey (26:30):
Yeah. Any other questions from the media?
Speaker 9 (26:33):
Governor, whenever there's a disaster like this, a lot of folks want to help, a lot of people want to donate funds, but there's always scrupulous people out there who want to take people's money. How can we be sure or how can … you may not have an answer for this, but when we donate, how do we know it's going to the right people?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (26:51):
Look, it's a great question, and relying on my experience from my past job where we'd have to go after people that would try to rip folks off, I want to send a very clear message. We are not going to tolerate scammers in West Virginia. If you try to steal from our people, you're going to pay a very, very high price. And that applies even for people that try to come in and take advantage of folks that are harmed through these disasters.
(27:16)
What we always try to recommend is that people work with a reputable organization, something that's registered with the Secretary of State's office that is a legitimate, bona fide charity. So for instance, we mentioned the Red Cross, the United Way, and entities that you know about where there's a long-term relationship, there's accountability. I can tell you from my past job, there were instances where you would have fly-by-nights come up on Facebook or other sources and they would try to get money and put it in their own pocket. You want to make sure you don't fall prey to that kind of scam. So donate to something that's reliable. Reach out to American Red Cross or United Way or other reliable groups. We don't want to limit it to just one or two, but it's best to check before you send the money online.
(28:12)
Any media?
Speaker 10 (28:13):
Yeah. There were some concerns in Ohio County yesterday that some natural gas leaks would prevent or delay the restoration of power to most of those residents. Do you have an updated timeline for that restoration?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (28:26):
It's ongoing right now, so they're looking at it. And that's part of the reason why sometimes there's a slowdown in the power because you have to inspect it and make sure that everything is copacetic before you turn the power back on. So we will be letting people know in our conversations with AEP. They're hopeful that they can get a lot of the power restored, I think Duncan said by 11 o'clock tonight. And that would be a good scenario, so that's the hope.
(28:57)
Other questions from the media?
Speaker 11 (28:59):
What would you say to the people of West Virginia right now, if you had anything to say?
Governor Patrick Morrisey (29:04):
West Virginians always come together during very difficult times. We've lost at least six of our brothers and sisters due to this terrible catastrophe, but we're going to stand strong. We're going to work with our local officials. We're going to work with the people of our state. We're going to rebuild. We're going to come back stronger than ever. Nothing is going to bring West Virginia down. We're going to arise from this moment and we're going to make sure that we are addressing all the needs that we have in these communities. And then we're going to advance as a state. Our citizens have an indomitable spirit, and I'm excited to see how many people have stepped up and been so generous and worked so hard over the last 36 hours.
(29:51)
I want to thank everyone for coming here today. We'll keep you updated in the days ahead. And let's get to work out there. Let's help identify the remaining citizens. Let's clear the roads. Let's get more good work done for West Virginia, and let's be strong. Thank you.